Social Media and your Website

How do you currently view your relationship with social media sites and your company site?

I have been asking this question all week and thinking about the direction I want to take in 2012 with respect to goals regarding my use of social media sites and our current site. I talked a little bit about this process with my Social Media/MTV post this week.

There are several opinions on this topic:

Classic Opinions

Some people claim that a website is not needed and with the right Facebook Page or Google+ Page, you can effectively communicate, engage and solidify clients on these sites.

The other extreme says, SEO is where it is at and social media is ok, but it does not produce any type of results.

Some other Opinions

Write a blog post and use it as a carrot at the end of a string to entice people to come to your site and become clients of yours. (I used to think this way…) (This is a beginning approach) (It’s a broadcasting mentality) (It may prevent you from connecting with great people)

My Opinion

I start the daily conversation with my blog post and then I move on to other topics, especially those shared by others. Here are the reasons for this approach:

In the morning, everyone needs juice for breakfast. Your blog site needs fresh content and someSEO juice. I am amazed how many people find my blog sites through keyword searches. Sometimes topics need to resonate longer. If I had the same post on Twitter or Facebook, it would only be a short-lived post or topic. By keeping your content fresh and talking about topics that others are not talking about, you will get notice.

People are connecting with people, content is very important, but people really want to connect with the best people in the business. Social Media has given us an even playingfield and allowed each of the chance to get our message in front of people.

By focusing your efforts on the first two points, you now have a great way to start conversations and a lot of insurance for the future. This insurance shows in your ability to be an expert in a particular subject area and ultimately bring in the right clients to your business.

In upcoming posts, I will talk about plans for 2012. To start your planning efforts, try this same exercise. Remember, each person and company is different. There is no cookie cutter approach to this process. I am showing you how I think, what type of goals and objectives are you trying to achieve. Ask yourself, “How do my efforts on Social Media sites affect my company website?” Do I need to change anything? Are my current efforts effective?